Friday, November 2, 2012

Taking the Plunge

The world of technology is like the ocean. Some people approach it with caution, sensing the awesome power of something so much bigger than themselves. Wary of currents that might pull them under, they wade in slowly, and stay near shore. Others dive right in, sink or swim, just knowing they wanna get wet.

I have been resisting Facebook since its inception.

After all, I am my father's daughter, a very social person. I grew up being introduced to strangers like they were already friends, since Dad seemed to know everyone. I like people, and usually (hopefully) they like me. But since becoming a mother, I have become leery and (over?)protective. While the Critters are perfectly comfortable growing up in the techno-age, and see the connectedness of the web as normal, I'm constantly watching for the spiders waiting in the shadows.

Firstborn, our guinea pig,was the last of her friends to take the plunge and "get connected". Only Son was allowed to wade in a year earlier as a Sophomore, and Third Child dove right in as soon as we let her her Freshman year. Sweetie Petite-y just recently got email - no swimming in shark-infested water at our house until high school - and Bonus Baby is still in water-wings. The ancient, hand-me-down computer she uses isn't even hooked up to the web, though she knows how to surf for Dora games on my touchscreen like a pro.

As for myself, I've been content to scour the shore for treasures, occasionally dipping my toes in the water (email, web browsing and this blog), but otherwise content to play lifeguard.

All that changed when Firstborn went to college. While she was more than eager to share photos and tidbits gleaned from her well-connected news feed, Only Son is only interested in the hilarious & freaky, and Third Child bristles at POS (Parent Over Shoulder - though I'm not "allowed" to use "breives" online). Since they are both good kids (and because occasional POS happens or more stringent restrictions apply) I have finally decided its time to swim...........or at least float. Hopefully not sink.

I quasi-set up my page and immediately friended several relatives (if I missed you, it was an oversight, not intentional - this family is HUGE!). It was only then that I realized I only knew how to dog paddle and this was the Olympics. Someone posted on my timeline, and I didn't even know I had one!

Mere minutes after I friended her, Firstborn sent me the following, used here with permission. Apologies for the fine print, but click to enlarge and/or dig out your reading glasses over-thirty crowd :

Since keeping in touch with her was a motivating factor, I'm happy to abide by these "suggestions".

And when I don't feel like following the rules, there's always this blog...